Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are webs of DNA covered with antimicrobial molecules that constitute a newly described killing mechanism in innate immune defense. Previous publications reported that NETs take up to 3–4 h to form via an oxidant-dependent event that requires lytic death of neutrophils. In this study, we describe neutrophils responding uniquely to Staphylococcus aureus via a novel process of NET formation that did not require neutrophil lysis or even breach of the plasma membrane. The multilobular nucleus rapidly became rounded and condensed. During this process, we observed the separation of the inner and outer nuclear membranes and budding of vesicles, and the separated membranes and vesicles were filled with nuclear DNA. The vesicles were extruded intact into the extracellular space where they ruptured, and the chromatin was released. This entire process occurred via a unique, very rapid (5–60 min), oxidant-independent mechanism. Mitochondrial DNA constituted very little if any of these NETs. They did have a limited amount of proteolytic activity and were able to kill S. aureus. With time, the nuclear envelope ruptured, and DNA filled the cytoplasm presumably for later lytic NET production, but this was distinct from the vesicular release mechanism. Panton–Valentine leukocidin, autolysin, and a lipase were identified in supernatants with NET-inducing activity, but Panton–Valentine leukocidin was the dominant NET inducer. We describe a new mechanism of NET release that is very rapid and contributes to trapping and killing of S. aureus.
Respiratory surfaces are exposed to billions of particulates and pathogens daily. A protective mucus barrier traps and eliminates them via mucociliary clearance (MCC)1,2. However, excessive mucus contributes to transient respiratory infections and to the pathogenesis of numerous respiratory diseases1. MUC5AC and MUC5B are evolutionarily conserved genes that encode structurally related mucin glycoproteins, the principal macromolecules in airway mucus1,3. Genetic variants are linked to diverse lung diseases4-6, but specific roles for MUC5AC and MUC5B in MCC, and the lasting effects of their inhibition, are unknown. Here we show that Muc5b (but not Muc5ac) is required for MCC, for controlling infections in the airways and middle ear, and for maintaining immune homeostasis in the lungs. Muc5b deficiency caused materials to accumulate in upper and lower airways. This defect led to chronic infection by multiple bacterial species, including Staphylococcus aureus, and to inflammation that failed to resolve normally7. Apoptotic macrophages accumulated, phagocytosis was impaired, and IL-23 production was reduced inMuc5b−/− mice. By contrast, in Muc5b transgenic (Tg) mice, macrophage functions improved. Existing dogma defines mucous phenotypes in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as driven by increased MUC5AC, with MUC5B levels either unaffected or increased in expectorated sputum1,8. However, in many patients, MUC5B production at airway surfaces decreases by as much as 90%9-11. By distinguishing a specific role for Muc5b in MCC, and by determining its impact on bacterial infections and inflammation in mice, our results provide a refined framework for designing targeted therapies to control mucin secretion and restore MCC.
The Staphylococcus aureus Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a pore-forming toxin secreted by strains epidemiologically associated with the current outbreak of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) and with the often-lethal necrotizing pneumonia. To investigate the role of PVL in pulmonary disease, we tested the pathogenicity of clinical isolates, isogenic PVL-negative and PVL-positive S. aureus strains, as well as purified PVL, in a mouse acute pneumonia model. Here we show that PVL is sufficient to cause pneumonia and that the expression of this leukotoxin induces global changes in transcriptional levels of genes encoding secreted and cell wall-anchored staphylococcal proteins, including the lung inflammatory factor staphylococcal protein A (Spa).
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